COVID-19 Provider Resources

As we continue navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, primary care providers play a crucial role in the ongoing response. To help ensure you are up-to-date with the most current medically accurate data and information, Riley Children’s Health will continue to provide resources and important information on this page.


To help you answer questions from patients and families, we’ve created an online resource center. There, you can find helpful information from our Riley physicians to share including condition specific guidance, free screening information, and steps to prevent the spread of the virus. Please email rileychildrens@IUHealth.org if you have any specific questions. Thank you for your partnership.

Updates

August 24, 2020

Riley Children’s Health has continued to enhance visitor guidelines to minimize the traffic within our buildings to keep patients, families and team members safe while supporting important patient and family connections.

  • Inpatients staying overnight may have one visitor (parent/legal guardian) in the building at a time with a few exceptions:
    • NICUs at Riley (4th floor only), Methodist and North hospitals may welcome up to two visitors per patient at a time.
    • Patients with longer-term stays may have one visitor at a time, with a switch-out occurring a minimum of once every 24 hours outside the hospital.
    • End-of-life or other critical situations.
    • Educational situations where a parent/guardian is learning to care for their child to ensure a safe discharge plan.
  • Surgery patients may have two visitors (parent/legal guardian) in the building during surgery. After surgery, one visitor must leave once the patient is settled into their care environment.
  • Physician office appointments may include one parent/guardian (no siblings) accompanying a child to their appointment. Limited exceptions apply:
    • Pediatric primary care appointments for newborns in Riley primary care offices in Indianapolis welcome two parents when special circumstances are discussed with the care team in advance.

These visitation guidelines apply at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health, Riley at IU Health North and Riley Maternity & Newborn Health at IU Health Methodist Hospital.

Additional updates can be found at rileychildrens.org/covid-19-updates.

Town Halls

In order to best partner and communicate with all medical providers in our community, our team will continue to host Virtual Town Halls. These virtual meetings allow our team of experts to provide the most up-to-date information and be able to answer questions live in person in a timely manner. Topics for these Town Halls include COVID-19 in our communities, treating pediatric patients, and important department updates. Here are the virtual Town Hall topics we have addressed so far.

  • April 9th – COVID – Riley Hospital Update
  • April 23rd – COVID – Riley Hospital Update
  • May 29th – COVID – Riley Update and MISC-C
  • July 23rd – COVID – Back to School Series: Part One Overview
  • August 6th – COVID – Back to school Series: Part Two Panel Discussion

For more information on how to register for our next Town Hall or if you would like a recording, please email rileychildrens@IUHealth.org.

Clinical Pathways for Patient Care

Below are PDF resources for patient care algorithms related to COVID-19 in pediatric patients.

Riley Purple Pdf File Image
Covid 19 Pediatric Patient Care Algorithm
Riley Purple Pdf File Image
Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome In Children Mis C Associated With Covid 19 Guidelines

Testing Information

Our approach to COVID-19 testing remains focused on individuals who have symptoms that are consistent with the virus. This rationale follows CDC guidance and is to ensure we have sufficient testing capacity to treat potentially critically ill patients. While testing of asymptomatic people is not available through Riley or IU Health, there are external sites that offer this type of testing.

If your patients are seeking a COVID-19 test for clearance to participate in activities such as sports, in-person classes or other school related events should be referred to an external testing provider. Included below are three options for asymptomatic testing outside of Riley and IU Health:

  • The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) continues to expand its drive-through testing clinics across the state. Testing is free for anyone age 12 and up who lives or works in Indiana. Locations change frequently; check the online map to find a drive-through clinic near you.
  • The ISDH also partners with OptumServe to provide testing sites across the state. Registration is required; patients can self-schedule online or by phone at 888.634.1116. Testing is free for anyone living and working in Indiana; children may be tested as well.
  • Aria Diagnostics offers testing at two locations on the north side of Indianapolis. Note that a test order from a provider is required to bill insurance, or self-pay tests are available for $135 with a 72-hour turnaround time.

As a reminder, we continue to provide COVID-19 screening via the Virtual Screening Clinic, where people currently located in Indiana can connect with a healthcare provider and review their symptoms.

Visitation

Riley Children’s Health has enhanced visitor guidelines to minimize the traffic within our buildings, and keep patients, families and team members safe.

Inpatient Stays: For those patients who are staying overnight, patients may only have one visitor (a legal guardian) in the building at a time with a few exceptions:

  • Neonatal intensive care units (NICU) at Riley Hospital and IU Health Methodist Hospital – up to two visitors are welcome to visit a patient at a time
  • Inpatients with longer-term stays at Riley Hospital – one visitor at a time of the two designated; they may switch out every 24 hours, with the switch occurring outside the hospital
  • End of life situations
  • Educational situations, where a parent/guardian is learning how to care for their child

Additionally:

  • Patients may not go off their units except for testing.
  • Visits to the Child Life Zone at our main campus downtown have been stopped until further notice; child life activities are performed at bedside or virtually

Physician office appointments: Only one parent/guardian, and no siblings, should accompany a child to their appointment to minimize the amount of people in our offices. An exception is pediatric primary care appointments for newborns in Riley primary care offices in Indianapolis, which are allowed two parents at each appointment. Special circumstances should be discussed with your child’s care team prior to arrival.

Surgeries: For patients having surgery at Riley Hospital, where there is ample space for social distancing in the large waiting area, patients may have two visitors (parents or legal guardians) in the building while undergoing surgery. Post-surgery, one parent/guardian must leave after the patient is settled into their care environment.

The above restrictions apply at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health, Riley at IU Health North and Riley Maternity & Newborn Health at IU Health Methodist Hospital.

Video Resources

WATCH: Our infectious disease experts share information around COVID-19, how it can impact children, how healthcare workers can protect themselves, and much more.

Dr Christenson Thumbnail

Coronavirus Overview and the Facts About COVID-19

Dr. Christenson offers an overview on coronaviruses, facts around the COVID-19 pandemic, and how it can impact children.
Dr Beeler Thumbnail

Coronavirus Overview and the Facts About COVID-19

Dr. Beeler provides guidance on personal protective equipment (PPE) usage and how healthcare workers can protect themselves at work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are surgeries and specialty care appointments continuing?

Our team is scheduling all elective, non-urgent surgeries and procedures so that our care teams can be available for those patients who have immediate needs.

We also continue to accept referrals for new patients. Referrals can be made online or by faxing or calling the applicable department.

Most primary care and specialty follow-up visits are conducted as a virtual or telephone visit. All urgent/critical patients and referrals are reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine if an in-person appointment is necessary. In the event they are not urgent, and the patient prefers to be seen in-person, the appointments have been rescheduled. Patients are encouraged to call their specialist if their symptoms worsen prior to their appointment.

When should PCPs send patients to the Riley at IU Health Emergency Department?

  • If you suspect your patient has COVID-19, the family should utilize the IU Health Virtual Visits app for an initial screening and support on what to do next. Staffed 24/7 with IU Health physicians, advance practice providers and registered nurses, the clinic will screen patients from home, potentially eliminating the need to visit physician offices, urgent cares or emergency departments.
  • Visit rileychildrens.org/emergency to access a new interactive tool that allows patients and families to view walk-in wait times and check-in online for both the IU Health North and Riley Hospital EDs. This allows parents to see wait times of both emergency rooms, provides flexibility in choosing which location is most convenient, offers families the ability to choose an arrival time that meets their needs, and minimizes time in the waiting room by selecting a check-in time prior to arrival.
  • IMACS (consults) and the Transfer Center (transfers) continue to be available:

How will I know if you are treating my patient for COVID-19?

If your patient is seen at Riley at IU Health for suspected COVID-19 (or any other condition), you will receive our standard follow-up communications regarding ER summary, admission, discharge, etc.

If one of my patients is an inpatient at Riley at IU Health, what can they expect?

The clinical staff and providers at Riley at IU Health are trained on the identification, isolation and treatment of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. At this point in time:

  • If an inpatient does not have cold or flu-like symptoms, they will continue to receive care without change.
  • If the primary caregiver has symptoms of fever or cough, they should not visit.

We are working hard to utilize all of our extensive resources as a comprehensive children’s hospital to support our patients and families during this stressful time through our robust online resource center.

The situation with COVID-19 is evolving rapidly and procedures for patient care will change as necessary to best protect patients, their families and staff. Please continue to check this site for more updated information or email rileychildrens@IUHealth.org.

Do you have resources or patient support materials I can share with my patients?

To help answer questions from patients and families, we’ve created an online resource center. There, you can find helpful information from our expert physicians about steps you can take to prevent the spread of the virus and how to a get a free screening if you suspect you have it.

We also ask our primary care providers in our community to continue to reference and share information from appropriate public health authorities and other trustworthy information sources, including: